Union Budget 2022: Rs 1,400 crore approved for Ken-Betwa project

The announcement comes at a time when seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, which fall under the Bundelkhand region, are scheduled to cast votes in the third, fourth, and fifth phases of the Legislative Assembly elections.

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced an allocation of Rs 1,400 crore in Union Budget 2022-23 for the implementation of the Ken-Betwa river-linking project in Bundelkhand, a drought-prone region spreading across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

“The implementation of the Ken-Betwa Link Project at an estimated cost of Rs 44,605 crore will be taken up. This is aimed at providing irrigation benefits to 9 lakh hectares of land, drinking water supply to 62 lakh people, 103 MW of hydro (power), 27 MW of solar power. Allocations of Rs 4,300 crore in the RE 2021-22 and Rs 1,400 crore in 2022-23 have been made for this project,” Sitharaman said, during her budget speech in Lok Sabha.

The announcement comes at a time when seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, which fall under the Bundelkhand region, are scheduled to cast votes in the third, fourth, and fifth phases of the Legislative Assembly elections.

Districts like Chhatarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri districts of Madhya Pradesh will get water from this ambitious project. While the drought-prone districts like Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi, and Lalitpur districts of Uttar Pradesh will get water for irrigating 10.62 lakh hectares and fulfill the drinking needs of 62 lakh people.

On March 22, 2021, an agreement was signed between the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath for this project which brought an end to the ongoing dispute over water distribution between both states.

According to the agreement, 90 percent amount will be funded by the central government in this project, while the remaining 5-5 percent will be borne by the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. During the non-monsoon season (between November and April), Madhya Pradesh will get 1,834 million cubic meters of water (MCM) and UP will get 750 million cubic meters. The Union Cabinet approved the funding and implementation of this project in a meeting chaired by PM Modi on December 8 after which it is expected that now work will start on the project.